DIY Printed Graphic Tee

There is no way you could have missed this new trend of graphic print animals on sweaters this season. Every retailer has their own version. I have seen deer, foxes, owls, cats, penguins... you name it, someone made one. This trend is one I have been watching from afar and I didn't know if I wanted to jump on the bandwagon or not.

Then, I had an epiphany the other night that I could simply create my own graphic printed tee! I must warn you, this is not the best DIY tutorial I have ever written... I kinda just winged it. I have pretty decent artistic skills so I free hand drew the image and then painted it. In hindsight, I would have made a few more adjustments to the process.... Let's see what I created...

So, let me recap what is in front of you. I started with the image of that adorable sweater from Forever 21. I then dug around in my pajama drawer for this old tee. Instead of a piece of cardboard, I used a paper bag from Trader Joe's. I just happened to have a bottle of black acrylic paint laying around too. If you're a crafter, like myself, you probably don't have to look far for any of these materials! Then, I free hand drew the cat face onto the tee.  *Suggestion* I should have printed out an image from the internet and traced it... probably would have come out a little straighter. On a positive note, it now has that one in a million feel.

Before I painted my image, I watered down the paint a little so it would make cleaner lines. Thick paint is hard to manipulate so by thinning it out, it's easier to work with. After I painted my image I let the shirt dry for over 24 hours, and then I tossed it into the washer and dryer on a delicate cycle. I washed it A) because I wanted the pencil marks gone and B) it helps the shirt look like it was screen printed instead of hand painted!

All in all, I was very pleased with the outcome. Like I said, I probably could have used a but more finesse in my execution, but I like to be reckless in crafting sometimes ;)

to see how I styled my DIY tee, click here!

{Link Ups}
Rolled Up Pretty
Transatlantic Blonde
I am Pisces

You can also find My Thrifty Chic on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram